Combination key and coin holder

ABSTRACT

A combination coin and key holder comprised of a body having a key frame slidably attached thereto, the key frame movable to a bottom position in which keys can be inserted in the key frame, a top position in which a coin can be inserted in a hollow section in the bottom of the body, and a middle position in which the key frame is locked in a position where keys cannot be removed from the key frame, and the coin is locked inside the body.

United States Patent 3,473,648 10/1969 Paluzzi Inventor Lowell W. Barrett 12731 W. Alameda Dr., Denver, Colo. 80228 Appl. No. 786.066

Fllod 1)ec.23, 19ml Patented Sept. 14, 1971 COMBINATION KEY AND COIN HOLDER 8 Claims, 9 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 70/459, 206/.81

Int. Cl A44!) 15/00 Field of Search 70/456 A, 456 B, 457, 458, 459; 24/239; 150/37, 40; 220/225; 206/.81, .82, .83

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,633,012 3/1953 .lohnstone 70/408 2,816,434 12/1957 Olson 70/457 3,478,550 11/1969 Salvesen 70/459 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,163,467 4/1958 France 711/459 1,462,881 11/1966 France 70/459 Primary Examiner-James A. Leppink Assistant Examiner- Robert L. Wolfe Attorney-Sheridan and Ross PATENTEUsEPMmfl INVENTOR. LOWELL W. BARRETT ATTORNEYS COMBINATION KEY AND COIN HOLDER SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a combination coin and key holder.

Keys for automobiles, doors, etc., are ordinarily carried on keyholders. The keyholders consist of a body portion having a frame slidably mounted thereon. The frame slides to a position where a key can be inserted into it through a gap or opening, and slides back into the body where it is locked with the key insertion gap inside the body.

When a car is parked in the business section of towns and cities, it is ordinarily parked in an area guarded by a parking meter requiring the insertion of a coin for specified parking times. Quite often, the driver is without a coin and is not near a business establishment where change can be obtained. Accordingly, an expedient for always having a coin available to use in a parking meter is to carry a coin in the keyholder case.

A number of prior art combination coin and key holders are available; however, they are cumbersome and expensive to manufacture. Since the keyholder must be carried in the pocket of the user, it is important that it be compact so that it will not occupy excessive space. Further, the keyholder must be inexpensive to manufacture and light and rugged in construction. It must be constructed with positive locking provisions to lock the coin inside the case.

The present invention, which is designed to overcome the disadvantages of prior art combination coin and key holders,

comprises a body portion having a key frame slidably mounted therein, the top portion of the body having a hollow section for the storage of a coin. The key frame is slidable to a bottom position wherein a key gap is available in the frame for insertion of keys, to a top position wherein a coin can be inserted in the hollow section at the top of the body, and to a third position where it is locked relative to the body with the coin securely stored in the body and the keys securely locked on the key frame.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is the perspective view of the keyholder of the invention showing a key inserted in the key frame;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the keyholder with a coin therein shown by dotted lines;

FIG. 3 is an end view of the coinholder;

FIG. 4 is a top view of one-half of the body portion of the keyholder with the frame locked in the middle position to prevent removal of keys therefrom, and showing in dotted lines the position of the frame for insertion of keys and for insertion of a coin;

FIG. 5 is a view taken on line 55 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a top view of one-half of the body portion of a modified keyholder showing in dotted lines the position of a coin in the keyholder;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken on line 77 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a top view of one-half of the body portion of another modification of the invention showing the frame in locked position where keys cannot be removed from it, and

FIG. 9 is a partial sectional view taken on line 9-9 of FIG. 8.

In the modification of the invention illustrated and described,.the bodyof the key case is made from two sections which are attached together with a boss portion in the middle. Thecase may be constructed from plastic, metal or other suitablematerial, and in .the modification shown the sections are made of plastic and. molded together to form the final product.

Referring to FIG. I, there is shown a compositekey case 10 comprisedoflower'half I2 and upper half 14, made of plastic and moldedtogether into the composite case. Key frame 16 is slidably mounted in the case 10. A key 18 is shown inserted on the key frame 16.

Referring now to FIG. 4, there is shown a top view of a half section of the key case. A boss portion 20 is formed on the inner surface of the section 12. Its upwardly facing surface 22 v is concave in conformation to accommodate the contour of a coin 24. The boss 20 terminates at its upper extremity in legs 26, 28. The lower edge 30 of the boss 20 serves as a stop to limit the upward movement of frame 16, and the ends of legs 26, 28 serve as a stop to limitthe downward travel of key frame 16. Ribs 32 and 34 are provided on eitherside of the boss 20 and together with the legs 26 and 28 andjthe lower side edges of the boss, form a track within which the key frame 16 slides. For locking the key frame 16 with respect to the body 10, a bend or boss 36 is formed in key frame 16 and a corresponding seat or indentation 38 is formed in the side edge of the boss 20. The same result can be accomplished by forming a locking boss in the boss 20 and a reverse bend or seat in the key frame 16. When the key frame is locked in position by means of the boss 36 seatingin the seat 38, the gap 17 is positioned inside of the body so that keys are locked on key frame 16 to prevent their removal.

A mating section 14 for the half section 12 may be used which has a flat inner face. Alternatively, a corresponding mating boss 20 and mating ribs 32, 34 may be formed on the mating section 14 and the sections 12 and 14 molded together. This provides the tracks for the key frame 16 and the hollow coin-receiving section in the body 16.

A simplified modification of the key case is shown in FIG. 6 in which the ribs 32, 34 of the modification of FIG. 4 are omitted and the key frame 16 slides on the side edges of boss 40. A corresponding mating half section 14 can be constructed analogously to the alternative forms described for the modification of FIG. 4, and molded to the half section 12.

Reference is made to FIG. 9 for showing of a modification of the locking mechanism for the modifications of FIGS. 4 and 6 comprised of boss 36 and seat 38. In this modification, the

boss 36 and seat 38 shown in FIGS. 4 and 6 are not provided. In their stead, pairs of vertically spaced, upstanding resilient locking pins 42 and 44 are located near the upper edge of body 10 internally thereof and in the path of travel of the upper end of key frame 16. The pins 42 and 44 are flexible so that slight pressure on the key frame 16 in the desired direction will cause the top of the frame to move over the adjacent pin to locking position between the pins, and out of locking position on either side of each pair of pins.

The operation of the combination key and coin holder is described as follows with reference to FIG. 4. The key frame is moved to its downward position shown in dotted lines by slight pressure to remove boss 36 from its seat 38. In this position the gap 17 is clear of the body 10 so that keys can be inserted on the key frame. The next operation is the insertion of coin 24 in the body 10. When the desired number of keys has been inserted on the key frame 16, the frame is moved to its uppermost position with the bottom of the frame contacting the lower edge 30 of the boss 20 which serves as a stop. In this position a coin is inserted over the top of the key frame into the hollow lower portion of the body 10. The frame is then moved to the locking position shown in FIG. 4 in which the boss 36 is locked in seat 38 with coin and keys in place and with the gap 17 positioned inside the body 10 so that keys cannot be removed from the key frame. It will also be noted that in this position, the upper edge of the coin 24 serves as an additional stop to prevent the key frame 16 from being moved downwardly to a position in which gap 17 clears the body 10 to permit the removal of keys from key frame 16. When the coin is needed the key frame 16 is moved to its top position in which removal of the coin can be accomplished. If a coin is not stored, the key frame locked in the middle position insures that keys cannot be removed from the frame, so that the key case can be used with or without the storage, of course.

A number of advantages stem from the construction of the above described combination key and coin case. The case is compact, light and of rigid construction. It provides for positive locking of keys and a coin in the case. It can be economically constructed by conventional plastic-molding techniques. Its use assures that a coin is always available for use in a parking meter when a vehicle is parked in an area guarded by a parking meter.

I claim:

1. A combination coin and keyholder comprising:

a body having a seating surface along its bottom edge, a hollow section extending inwardly from its top edge terminating in an upwardly facing concave abutment surface which terminates on either side in upwardly extending legs, and track means near its side edges; a key frame having a key insertion gap slidably mounted in said track means, the ends of said legs forming a first stop means for halting the downward travel of said key frame in a bottom position where said gap is clear of said body to permit insertion of keys in said key frame; the bottom of said seating groove serving as second stop means for halting the upward travel of said key frame in a top position where the top of said key frame extends beyond said body to permit insertion of a coin in said hollow section; locking means between said frame and at least one of the members of said track means to lock said frame in a middle position in which said gap is within said body to prevent escape of keys from said key frame and the top of said frame prevents escape of the coin from said hollow section.

2. The device of claim 1 in which track means are provided in said body in which said key frame slides.

3. The device of claim 2 in which said locking means are cooperating indentations and bosses in said members and in said key frame.

4. The device of claim 2 in which said locking means comprises at least one pair of flexible pins on said body between which the top edge of said key frame seats in the locking position.

5. A combination coin and keyholder comprising: a body having a U-shaped hollow section on its inner surface opening from its bottom end to form upstanding legs; a key frame having a key insertion gap therein slidably mounted on the outside surface of said U-shaped hollow section; said key frame and said outside surface constructed to operatively cooperate to provide bottom, middle and top seating or locked positions for said key frame so that at said bottom position of said key frame said key insertion gap is clear of said body to permit insertion of keys therein and at said top position of said key frame its top end is extended beyond said body to permit insertion of a coin in the hollow section of said body; and means for seating said key frame in said middle position where said gap is within said body to prevent the escape of keys from said key frame. V 6. A combination coin and keyholder comprising: a body having a U-shaped hollow section'on its inner surface opening from its bottom end to form upstanding legs; a key frame having a key insertion gap therein slidably mounted on said body section; said key frame adapted to move to bottom, middle and top positions with respect to said body; first and second stop means for halting the travel of said frame beyond said top and bottom positions, respectively; whereby at said bottom position of said key frame said key insertion gap is clear of said body to permit insertion of keys therein and at said top position of said key frame its top end is extended beyond said body to permit insertion of a coin in the hollow section of said body; and means for seating said key frame in said middle position where said gap is within said body to prevent the escape of keys from said key frame.

7. The device of claim 6 including track means in said body within which said key frame slides.

8. A combination coin and key case open at each end and comprised of two mating sections, at least one of said mating sections comprising a flat planar body section, a U-shaped boss on one surface of one of said mating sections having an open concave upper edge, ribs on either side of said boss forming a track with the ed es of the boss; a key frame having a key aperture therein slida ly mounted In said track to move to positions in which its end sections extend through said openings; cooperating seating means between said key frame and said one of said body sections, the ends of said U-shaped boss defining stop means to limit the upper and lower movement of said key frame through said end openings. 

1. A combination coin and keyholder comprising: a body having a seating surface along its bottom edge, a hollow section extending inwardly from its top edge terminating in an upwardly facing concave abutment surface which terminates on either side in upwardly extending legs, and track means near its side edges; a key frame having a key insertion gap slidably mounted in said track means, the ends of said legs forming a first stop means for halting the downward travel of said key frame in a bottom position where said gap is clear of said body to permit insertion of keys in said key frame; the bottom of said seating groove serving as second stop means for halting the upward travel of said key frame in a top position where the top of said key frame extends beyond said body to permit insertion of a coin in said hollow section; locking means between said frame and at least one of the members of said track means to lock said frame in a middle position in which said gap is within said body to prevent escape of keys from said key frame and the top of said frame prevents escape of the coin from said hollow section.
 2. The device of claim 1 in which track means are provided in said body in which said key frame slides.
 3. The device of claim 2 in which said locking means are cooperating indentations and bosses in said members and in said key frame.
 4. The device of claim 2 in which said locking means comprises at least one pair of flexible pins on said body between which the top edge of said key frame seats in the locking position.
 5. A combination coin and keyholder comprising: a body having a U-shaped hollow section on its inner surface opening from its bottom end to form upstanding legs; a key frame having a key insertion gap therein slidably mounted on the outside surface of said U-shaped hollow section; said key frame and said outside surface constructed to operatively cooperate to provide bottom, middle and top seating or locked positions for said key frame so that at said bottom position of said key frame said key insertion gap is clear of said body to permit insertion of keys therein and at said top position of said key frame its top end is extended beyond said body to permit insertion of a coin in the hollow section of said body; and means for seating said key frame in said middle position where said gap is within said body to prevent the escape of keys from said key frame.
 6. A combination coin and keyholder comprising: a body having a U-shaped hollow section on its inner surface opening from its bottom end to form upstanding legs; a key frame having a Key insertion gap therein slidably mounted on said body section; said key frame adapted to move to bottom, middle and top positions with respect to said body; first and second stop means for halting the travel of said frame beyond said top and bottom positions, respectively; whereby at said bottom position of said key frame said key insertion gap is clear of said body to permit insertion of keys therein and at said top position of said key frame its top end is extended beyond said body to permit insertion of a coin in the hollow section of said body; and means for seating said key frame in said middle position where said gap is within said body to prevent the escape of keys from said key frame.
 7. The device of claim 6 including track means in said body within which said key frame slides.
 8. A combination coin and key case open at each end and comprised of two mating sections, at least one of said mating sections comprising a flat planar body section, a U-shaped boss on one surface of one of said mating sections having an open concave upper edge, ribs on either side of said boss forming a track with the edges of the boss; a key frame having a key aperture therein slidably mounted in said track to move to positions in which its end sections extend through said openings; cooperating seating means between said key frame and said one of said body sections, the ends of said U-shaped boss defining stop means to limit the upper and lower movement of said key frame through said end openings. 